Hat-sizing machine.



E. S. STOCKER & F. A. STACY.

HAT SIZING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. I5. I910.

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HAT SIZING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 15, I910- i 1,156,942. Patented Oct. 19, 1910.

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E. s STOCKER & F. A. STACY.

HAT SIZING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. '15. I9I0.

Patented Oct. 19, 1915.

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ELBERT S. STOCKER AND FREDERICK A. STACY, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT.

HAT-SIZING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 19, 1915.

Application filed September 15, 1910. Serial N 0. 582,119.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ELBERT S. STOGKER and FREDERICK A. STACY, citizens of the United States, and residents'of Danbury, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Sizing Machines, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to hat machinery and -particularly to novel means for sizing shrinking and crozing hats in the manufacture of felt hats.

As far as we are aware this operation for sizing and shrinking, or crozing as it is sometimes called, has heretofore been done in part by hand, and in part by a machine, having a series of horizontally disposed rolls, which are operated in a tank of hot water. In the present method of treating hat bodies several of them are usually laid together and wrapped in a cloth and thus run back and forth between the rolls. This operation obviously tends to work the felt into the bodies and thus shrink themto a smaller size and thereby produce a more solid mass. In order to obtain a uniform effect upon the hat bodies and, avoid creasing the same where folded, they have to be repeatedly taken out, refolded along different lines, again wrapped in the cloth and thus again placed in the machine for further operations. I

It is therefore the object of our invention to improve upon the present method of treating hat bodies of this kind, by producing an automatic machine wherein a different and improved treatment or operation upon the hat bodies is effected, and whereby they do not have to be removed, refolded, etc., in order to complete the sizing operation.

A further object of our invention is to produce a machine wherein a number of bodies may be treated simultaneously by comparatively little manual labor; to design a machine that will be comparatively simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

A heretofore essential feature of the treatment of hat bodies of this kind, was'the use of hot water and we therefore also herein provide for the use of hot water, and whereby the bodies are kept soaking wet all the time during the operation thereon. water is preferably provided through pipes and. sprayed upon the machine and hat This bodiesduring the operation thereon, though run in water if desired.

With these and other objects in view the lnventlon consists in the construction and novel combination and arran ement of parts hereinafter fully described, ifiustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended it being understood that various changes in' the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Similar characters of reference denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the accompanying three sheets of drawings forming a part of this specification, and upon Which Figure 1, shows a plan view of our improved machine, designed for sizing or crozing hat bodies. Fig. 2, is a side elevationof the same machine. Fig. 3, is an enlarged central vertical sectional view of the machine, taken on line a-a of Fig. 1. Fig. 4, is

' a perspective view of a hat body, such as our movable sections intermediate of which the said bodies are sized. Fig. 6, is a detached plan view of one of the two operating "wheels, carrying'the operating sections for engaging and operating upon the hat bodies. Fig. 7, is an enlarged detached perspective view of one of the said sections shown in the preceding figure, and Fig. 8, shows a detail cross sectional view corresponding in part with Fig. 3, and showing 'a modlfied form of construction for operating the sections. Fig. 9, shows a further diagram view somewhat like Fig. ,5 though illustrating the use of form for use insidethe hat body and around which the body may be made to roll. Referring in detail to the characters of reference marked upon the drawings 10 represents a frame which isv preferably formed of wood and includes a series of vertically disposed outer members or posts, and suitable cross pieces to tie the vertical posts together and support the several other parts of the machine. A tank 11. is seated intermediate the lower part of the said posts and serves to contain hot water that is fed there- The wheels 17 and 18 are substantially alike in construction and are designed to roupon this shaft and serves to engage a roller pin 28 upon the upper end of vertically disposed oscillatory shaft 14, whereby the same is oscillated to impart an oscillatory movement to the several sections 19 carried by the wheels as hereinafter explained. These wheels comprise a hub portion 29, a rim portion 30, and spokes 31 to join to the said hub and rim. The outer face of hub and rim are preferably beveled in, as shown in Fig. 3, to better direct the hot water when sprayed thereon, between the spokes and upon the hat bodies when laid between the sections. The hot water referred to may be supplied from a coil of perforated pipe 32 secured in hangers 33 attached to the upper cross pieces of the frame and thus sprayed upon the wheels and sections. The inner face of the wheels shown are recessed in part to form an annular compartment 34 to receive the springs 35, and to form intermediate compartments 36 for the operating sections 19. These compartments are separated by an annular rib 37 and radial ribs '38 (see'Fig. 6). As shown in the present construction there are sizg of these compartments 36 in each wheel and a single section 19 in each compartment. The sections are of substantially the shape shown and besides being perforated as indicated by 39 are provided with slats 40 of which there may be any desired number. Said sections are loosely contained in the compartments so as to be given a radially oscillatory movement in addition to being carried around with the wheel. Sheet metal cross strips 41 and 42 are laid across the inner and outer end (portions of the section 19 and are secure by means of screws 43, to the sides of the wheel so as to permit'the sections to.

freely move thereunder, but to still retain them between the sections.

The radially oscillatory movement referred to is for the purpose of imparting a slight lengthwise movement to the hat bodies in addition'to. the side rolling operation, so as to change the line of folds in the body with relation to its top end and thus avoid creasing the body of the hat and producing a sharp point in the crown of the body. This radially oscillatory movement may obviously be produced in several ways and therefore we do not wish to be confined to any particular construction of mechanism for effecting said movements. In the main figures of the drawings we have shown upon the vertically disposed shaft 14 an enlargement 44 that is arranged substantially centrally of the wheels and whose upper and lower sides are beveled to engage radially disposed pins 46 that are operatively mounted in the hub of the wheel and have their ends projecting out and contacting with the sections 19 in a way to shove those of the upper sections out (see Fig. 3) with the lifting of the shaft against the action of the springs 35 seated in the outer annular compartment 34. Pins 47 are-slidably fitted in holes of the annular rib 37 and intermediate of the said sections and springs 35, for imparting movement from one to the other. These spring and pin connections obviously serve to shove the sections inward against the action of' the beveled enlargement 44 on the shaft 14. It will further be apparent from the drawings that the shaft 14 has but a vertical movement, and that its beveled enlargement is so located with relation to the respective sets of pins of upper and lower wheels, that they and the sections are alternately shoved out against the action of the springs, and that the upper set would thus be moving out while the lower set would be moving in and vice versa.

In Fig. 8, we have shown a modified form of construction of mechanism for imparting a radially oscillatory movement to the section 19 and whereby the springs 35 are dispensed with. In this form of construc-v tion the shaft 14* would be stationary and have a cam 4.4 secured thereto, having cam grooves 45 in its upper and lower side. The pins 46 are secured to the sections 19 and are provided with rolls 48 that engage the grooves'45 before mentioned and whereby the pins and sections are positively drawn in and out as the wheels turn and the sections move around the shaft. The grooves are substantially alike in form but are located differently with relation to each other so as to move the upper sections out while the lower ones are being drawn in.

The upper wheel is designed to be lifted for placing in and removing the hat bodies, and accordingly we have shown a lifting rope 49 attached to screw eyes 50 of the upper wheel, and carried up connected, and

passed over suitable rolls 51 secured to the ceiling 52. The free end of the rope may in this way also be brought down in position for attachment to a hook 53 to be manipulated by the operator who stands in front of the machine. In Fig. 9 wehave shown a flat triangular shaped plate 54 that may be used inside the hat body if desired and around which the body may roll instead of having its inner sides rubbing directly against each other.

From the foregoing it would be seen that the machine would be operated as follows: The upper wheel being raised in the manner just described, the six hat bodies would be laid flat upon the several sections 19 of the lower Wheel, the top or peak of the hat bodies being disposed in toward the hub of the wheel. The upper wheel would then be lowered and its gear rack also brought in contact with the beveled pinion 21 on the driving shaft, which may later be continually driven. The several hat bodies are-thus disposed flat and engaged between the operating surfaces, (the'sections) of the two wheels, which are slowly driven in opposite directions. This engagement and operation on the outer surfaces" of the flatly disposed hat body causes them to roll upon themselves so to speak, see arrows Fig. 5, thereby con-' stantly changing their line of fold and avoid creasing the same. In addition to this movement there is also the radial movement of the section which tends to slightly roll the bodies back and forth lengthwise in a way to avoid peaking the crown of the body. These several and combined operations upon the hat all tend to work thefibers of the mass into the bodies and in this way solidify and shrink the same. The water is freely supplied during this rolling ofthe hat bodies, being deflected down upon the top wheel and through the section and bodies, and finally caught in the bank below. After the machine has been operated agiven length of time and the bodies shrunk to the desired size, the water would be-cut off, the upper wheel lifted and the bodies removed and a new lot placed therein. Six bodiescan thus be operated upon simultaneously and one operator can attend to several machines. A wheel having a greater or lesser number of sections can be used if preferred.

Having thus described our invention what we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A hat sizing machine, comprising two or more sections rotatably mounted to move in a horizontal plane, means for moving one of the said sections in a forward direction and means for moving the other section in an opposite direction to roll'a hat body therebetween, and means for impartingto said sections additional radial movements.

2. A hat slzing machine, comprising a pair of flat perforated sections arranged one above the other and rotatably mounted to move in a horizontal plane, means for moving one of the said sections in a forward direction and means for moving the other section in an opposite direction to roll a hat body therebetween, and means for supplying water thereto and through the perforations to shrink said hat'bodies.

3. A hat sizing machine, comprising'a pair of fiat sections rotatably mounted to move in a horizontal plane and intermediate of which a hat body may be placed, means for moving one of the said sections in a forward direction and means for moving the other section in' an opposite direction to roll a flatly disposed hat body therebetween, and

means for imparting to said sections alter- -nate inward and outward sidewise move.-

ments.

4. A hat sizing machine, comprising a pair of perforated rotary wheels connected to be driven in opposite directions, a series of attached sections arranged within the wheels and adapted to roll hat bodies therebetween to shrink the same, and means for supplying a stream of water through the said perforations.

5 A hat sizing machine, comprising a pair of rotary wheels connected to be driven in opposite directions, a series of sections arranged within the wheels and intermediate of which hat bodies may be arranged, and

means for imparting to said sections radial flatly disposed hat body may be arranged,-

and means for supplying hot water to said wheels and 'sections in a manner to be passed through the perforations of the sections and to the hat bodies.

8. In a hat sizing machine, the combination of a pair of rotary wheels, a series of sections carried by each of said wheels and,

each provided with a series of solid radial ribs for engaging a hat body when arranged between the sections in a manner to roll and work the body.

9. In a hat sizing machine, the combination with a single shaft, of a pair of horizontally arranged rotary Wheels mounted on said shaft, means for operating the wheels in opposite directions to roll a hat body' around the shaft when placed therebetween,

and means for raising and lowering one of the said wheels for the purpose of removing and replacing a 'hat body therebetween.

10. In a hatsizing machine, the combination with a pair of Wheels adapted to be driven inopposite directions, a shaft upon which the wheels are designed to rotate, a series of sections carried by each wheel, connections intermediate; of the sections and said shaft whereby a radial movement is imparted to the sections while turning with the Wheels.

11-. In a hat sizing machine, the combination with a tank, a shaft arranged therein,

a pair of rotary wheels mounted upon the wheels to wet the hat bodies contained therein.

12. In a hat sizing machine, the combinationof a pair of horizontally operating rotary wheels, having a series of compartments in their inner faces, a series of operative sections mounted within said compartments and adapted to be moved around with the wheel, and means for imparting to said sections a radial movement within the compartments'.

Signed at Danbury in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut this 7th day of September, A. D. 1910.

ELBERT S. STOCKER. FREDERICK A. STACY.

Witnesses:

GEO. WAKEMAN, M. RoWENA RAYMOND, 

